<p>I don’t think grade inflation is an issue AT ALL. I would say it’s the opposite. There have been many posts of parents/students concerned about students who were straight A students at their private or public day schools getting B’s and C’s at top schools. I would say that for most top schools, an assignment has to be truly superior to earn an A. Back when I was in school, an A was “superior”, a B was “excellent”, a C was “satisfactory”, a D was “unsatisfactory” and an F was simply “failing.”</p>
<p>As for college admissions, most top schools do not rank their students so they send a grade distribution chart or something like it. A student may have gotten a B in AP Calculus but so did 10 others and only one got an A - yet all got a 5 on the exam. Furthermore, colleges are aware of the extreme rigor of top prep schools and understand that a C at say, Exeter, could very well exceed an A at County Public High. This is where normed tests like the SAT and AP come into play. I can’t tell you how many high honor roll seniors at our public school stretch to get a 1700 on the SAT or who get an A in AP English and a 1 or 2 on the exam.</p>
<p>Actually, I can tell you because I just checked the website 
…nearly 80% of seniors are on the honor roll YET the average SAT scores are 534CR, 519M, 548W. For this public school, being average is an honor. THAT, my dear, is grade inflation - pure and simple.</p>